Russellville 4th, 9th at Siloam Springs meetSILOAM SPRINGS —The Russellville Cyclones and Pottsville Apaches swim and dive teams participated in the Siloam Springs Invitational Meet recently. The Cyclones finished fourth, while the Lady Cyclones came in ninth and the Apaches were 13th among more than 200 swimmers and divers. Both Pottsville swimmers scored points in their events. Jacob Horne finished in seventh place in the 500-meter freestyle and 13th in the 50 freestyle. His brother A...

Dardanelle JH teams sweep upDardanelle Junior High School’s Lady Sand Lizards held the Waldron Junior Lady Bulldogs scoreless for the entire first half Friday in their 44-8 conference win. DJHS 13-7, 3-1 4A-4 Conference) led 15-0 after the first period and 29-0 at halftime before Waldron scored eight points in the third (37-8), then the Junior Lady Sand Lizards held the Junior Lady Bulldogs scoreless again in the fourth period. “The girls came out ready to play from the ...

Wonder Boys’ baseball season opens in HoustonOpening day for the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys baseball team is five days away, and the Wonder Boys will start the 2013 season in style, opening the season by playing four games in the Astros in Action D-II Invitational at Minute Maid Park in Houston, the home of the Houston Astros. Minute Maid Park opened during the 2000 season, when the Astros moved from the Houston Astrodome. Since its opening, the park has hosted the 2004 Major League Baseb...

ATU Fishing flips pancakes, not luresArkansas Tech University’s Fishing Team is kicking off its spring season in a different way. Instead of members using their finely honed flipping techniques to flip their favorite lures under docks and other low structures, they will be flipping pancakes today. Stoby’s Restaurant on Parkway Drive is the place to be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today to enjoy all-you-can-eat pancake breakfasts served up by members of the ATU Fishing Team. Their advise...

Williamson, Wonder Boys weather Savage Storm Arkansas Tech senior Jared Williamson netted 17 points, 13 of those in the first half, and hit a pair of free throws with 13.1 seconds remaining to help the Wonder Boys defeat Southeastern Oklahoma State’s Savage Storm 49-45 Saturday night. ATU (10-7, 7-4 GAC) won its sixth straight game inside Tucker Coliseum and netted sole possession of second place in the Great American Conference Standings. Williamson led everybody in scoring and grabbed ...

RHS Cyclones net first league winLITTLE ROCK — The Russellville Cyclones snatched their first 6A/7A-Central Conference win on Friday against the Little Rock Catholic Rockets in what Russellville head coach Codey Mann called a “typical Cyclones versus Catholic” game. Russellville (9-11, 1-5) escaped with a 48-45 win — a welcome relief after dropping two straight close games. “It ended up like I said it would,” Mann said. “A grind-it-out kind of game. We didn’t shoot particular...

Two Rivers Gators escape with winOLA — The Two Rivers Gators gave up an eight-point lead and eventually survived the Paris Eagles 39-37 Thursday night in a 3A-4 Conference match-up inside Gators Gym. The Gators (11-7, 6-3) barely escaped overtime after they allowed the Eagles (7-12, 4-6) to pull within two and the shot that would have tied the game for Paris went in and out of the basket as the buzzer sounded. “It shows a lot when you think you don’t play well and you still c...

Schools must provide sports for disabled, US says WASHINGTON (AP) — Students with disabilities must be given a fair shot to play on a traditional sports team or have their own leagues, the Education Department says. Disabled students who want to play for their school could join traditional teams if officials can make “reasonable modifications” to accommodate them. If those adjustments would fundamentally alter a sport or give the student an advantage, the department is directing the school to...

Coliseum Crew making some noiseArkansas Tech University is looking for a few good young men and women. Brad Palmer and Ben Stiles are avid Arkansas Tech University basketball fans. After one Wonder Boys game last season, they heard Jared Williamson of Russellville say in effect, “Man, I would love to play in front of a crowd like in Tucker Coliseum.” Those words stuck with the duo when they went to Wichita Falls, Texas, last March for the NCAA Division II Tournament South R...

Paris defeats Lady Gators with dominating effortOLA — The Paris Lady Eagles have dominated the 3A-4 Conference all season long, and they proved to be too much for the Two Rivers Lady Gators on Thursday night inside Gator Gym, 50-22. Two Rivers (2-14, 0-9) only managed to score three field goals throughout the first quarter, with contributions coming from Brittany Keys and Maddison Reynolds. Meanwhile, the undersized Lady Eagles (15-7, 7-3) took a 14-6 at the end of the first quarter. Deanna...

Golden Suns beat Harding 50-43SEARCY — If it weren’t for four minutes of bad offense where they didn’t score, the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns could have routed the Harding Lady Bisons on Thursday night. Harding, the preseason pick to win the Great American Conference, were held to just three made field goals in the entire first half and lost 50-43 to ATU in the Rhodes Field House. The Lady Bisons (11-5, 7-3 GAC) went into the game ranked first in scoring defense, but the Gol...

Hector’s girls lose to ConwayHECTOR — The Hector Lady Wildcats dropped a 52-32 game to the Conway Christian Lady Eagles on Tuesday inside the Wildcat Multi-Purpose Building. Hector took a commanding 16-7 lead in the first period, but the Lady Eagles closed the gap to 24-21 by the half. Conway Christian outscored the Lady Wildcats 16-6 in the third quarter to ursurp the lead, 37-30. Kasey Rook led Hector in scoring with 25 points, followed by Brittany Dixon with six and Al...

Harding Bisons top Wonder Boys 72-64 SEARCY — If anybody comes into the Rhodes Field House and beats the Harding Bisons on their home floor, that would define upset. Harding remained atop the Great American Conference standings Thursday night by shooting 55 percent from the field in the second half, but the Bisons still had to withstand a furious comeback bid before beating the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys 72-64 on Thursday night. Willie Kirkland led ATU (9-7, 6-4 GAC) and all playe...

Marsh, Pinkston add to postseason football honorsArkansas Tech senior quarterback Tanner Marsh has been selected by the Little Rock Touchdown Club as Tech’s Player of the Year for the 2012 season. Marsh and 11 players from the other Arkansas football playing schools will be honored by the Touchdown Club at its annual banquet Feb. 1 at the Embassy Suites in Little Rock. Marsh earned his selection after becoming just the second quarterback in Arkansas Tech history to throw for over 400 yards i...

Dardanelle, Dover split 4A-4 gamesDARDANELLE — The Sand Lizards and visiting Dover Pirates split a pair of 4A-4 Conference basketball games Tuesday night. Dover’s Lady Pirates claimed a 44-37 road win after trailing 20-18 after the first period. Dover (16-3, 6-2) outscored the Lady Sand Lizards 10-0 in teh second quarter and led 28-20 at halftime. The Lady Pirates led 38-28 after the third. “This was a great win on the road,” Dover girls head coach Irvin Fairfield said. “We pl...

Cyclones lose double OT heartbreakerFor the second week in a row, the Russellville Cyclones suffered a last-second heartbreak at the hands of a pack of Bulldogs. Last week, Springdale drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to steal a 7A/6A-Central Conference basketball win from the Cyclones. Tuesday night, the Greenwood Bulldogs ralled in the fourth period and escaped RHS with a 72-71 two-overtime league win. “I kept telling the boys we were just one rebound away from stealing the wi...

Long road to victory for RHS teamsTo say Russellville High School’s basketball teams have struggled since the start of the 6A/7A-Central Conference season is a bit of an understatement. Neither team has managed a single conference win — but in a conference where every team is allowed a trip to the Class 6A state playoffs, the Lady Cyclones and Cyclones are fighting for seeding. “We’re treating the remaining games in the season like playoff games,” Cyclones head coach Codey Man...

ATU basketball preview: HardingArkansas Tech Golden Suns (10-5, 7-2 GAC) vs. Harding Lady Bisons (11-4, 7-2 GAC) When: Today, 5:30 p.m. Where: Rhodes Field House, Searcy Radio/Internet: KWKK 100.9 FM/athletics.atu.edu About the Golden Suns: Arkansas Tech is part of a four-way tie atop the Great American Conference standings with 11 regular season league games remaining. The Golden Suns have won three consecutive games and five of their last six. Senior forward Jessica Weath...

Powell’s 17 leads Arkansas past Miss. St. 96-70 FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — Mike Anderson couldn’t help but sit back and enjoy watching Arkansas practice what he’s been preaching for a season and a half. The Razorbacks, under their second-year coach, pressed, harassed and generally made life as uncomfortable as possible for Mississippi State in a 96-70 win on Wednesday night. Arkansas (12-6, 3-2 Southeastern), which was led by Marshawn Powell’s 17 points, forced a season-high 29 turnovers — leading...